


double dare me

by newheros



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crack Treated Seriously, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Magical Realism, Mind Meld, mark is actually a fic writer but doesn't want you to know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 11:24:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17807105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newheros/pseuds/newheros
Summary: "Incredible," Renjun complains. "Three heads around here and not a single brain cell on sight."Technically,Donghyuck points out,Nana and I are just a projection of your mind, so you're the brainless one here. Oh, look! You have a text from Mark Lee. Thank me later, pumpkin.





	double dare me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nightsofsilver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightsofsilver/gifts).



> first of all: night, from the bottom of my heart, i hope you like this. writing this for you was a pleasure.
> 
> second of all: HELLOOOOO MARKREN NATION! here we go, fellas, buckle up for the ride. i hope you like this as much as i liked writing it.
> 
> [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/yourdietsoda/playlist/52k5NiprFrhGq7hh26udw3?si=vo27EdtpSUugqWrl8DqvdA)
> 
> title is from waterparks' "stupid for you"

"Jen, do you think it is possible to keep a secret from yourself?"

Scraping the remainings of mint chocolate chip ice cream from his cup, Jeno laughs. "Of course not, dummy!" he replies, matter-of-factly. "Unless you could, I don't know, fish out the secret from your head and put it somewhere. Like Dumbledore and his pensieve! But you can't do that, right? You'd tell me if you were a wizard, right?"

Renjun sighs: "Everyone is over Harry Potter but you, Jeno."

The other boy rolls his eyes, but doesn't push it. Jeno reaches out to steal a little bit of his ice cream and Renjun lets him just because he doesn't feel like fighting. Instead, he settles for wondering.

The idea is simple: you pick a thought and lock it in an imaginary vault, hidden somewhere not even you can find so that you wouldn't ever have to think about it again – if Renjun had to choose, he'd pick secrets like these: the tiniest little crush he had on his brother's boyfriend back in middle school, the fact that he was the one to sit on Jeno's glasses and break them two weeks before, the day he cheated on a test and got the highest score in the classroom. Just little memories that were embarrassing to remember. And maybe others too, like the day his grandmother died, or the memories from every fight he had with Kun on the course of his life, but those weren't exactly secrets, more like just unpleasing memories.

If Renjun could do that, – lock thoughts away, forget where they are and it's done, no more thinking about it – he surely would. Repeating the idea to Jeno, he says:

"Well, I personally would lock away that one time I asked Heejin out and she didn't hear because she had her earbuds on, because sometimes when I'm going to sleep, I can't stop thinking about it and it's  _ so _ embarrassing, Jesus Christ."

"Jeno, it's been four years. You have a whole boyfriend now."

He shakes his head. "We don't use the b-word! At least not yet. We're getting there, though..."

See, Lee Jeno could never understand why Renjun wants to fool himself, despite being his best friend. They met while skipping P.E. somewhere in middle school – Renjun because he's prohibited from playing dodgeball since forever (too competitive), Jeno because he doesn't like hitting people and can't choose a team to save his life –, and were inseparable ever since. Jeno is perhaps the person Renjun trusts the most even if he has a terrible habit of eating the last slice of pizza without asking – that's pretty much the only flaw in his personality alongside snoring a little –, and despite being a little too much on the skeptical side. 

"I just don't know why would you want to keep a secret from yourself," Jeno says, in all of his seventeen-year-old wisdom. "The only people we can trust is ourselves."

"Forget it, Socrates," Renjun says. "You wouldn't understand."

Even though Jeno gets mad at that little commentary, it's more about the fact that he thinks Renjun doesn't trust him to keep his secrets than anything else, so Renjun lets it slide. Jeno's also a little bit too much on the skeptical side, and if Renjun were to tell him his biggest secret, the one he's decided to take to his grave, he's sure Jeno wouldn't even believe him in the first place.

After all, let's face it, Renjun thinks, when he's walking home later in the day. If he were to tell anyone – besides his family – that it sucks having not only one but two people prying into your thoughts every second of your life, he'd probably be sent to seek therapy or something. And maybe he would do it. Willingly. 

On his left, a voice says:  **I'm, literally, so offended. I don't personally like being a projection of your mind, alright, buttercup?**

"Yeah, I know," is what Renjun replies, turning a right on his street. "I just like being delusional and having a false sense of privacy, you know, Nana? Also, you can't be "literal", you don't even exist properly,"

Jaemin laughs loudly on his ear, and if Renjun were to take a look, he'd find him right there, perched on his shoulder.  **You're so funny, buttercup, I taught you sarcasm well.**

"You didn't teach me that, I've always spoken sarcasm. Where's Hyuck?"

See, when Renjun was a kid, he thought he was the luckiest boy on earth for having not only one, but  _ two _ imaginary friends. They were a little weird, of course, the tiny humans that liked to hang out on both of his shoulders and never really went away, but Renjun liked them despite it all. 

And then the years passed, and his imaginary friends didn't go away like Jeno's and every other kid's did, and Renjun thought he was actually going crazy until the day his mother sat on his bed, pet his hair and told him that they weren't exactly imaginary, and that he wasn't going crazy. Just a family thing, you know, having these little buddies to guide your actions. 

At age seven, he didn't ever want to let go of Nana and Hyuck. Growing up, they were just so helpful! Donghyuck sang lullabies to him every night, and whispered good things in Renjun's ears every time he was nervous for a test or a presentation at school. As for Jaemin, he was the one who taught Renjun how to throw a punch – do  _ not _ put your thumb inside the fist, because it  _ will _ get you hurt –, and, many years later, how to properly leave a hickey on someone. 

(Donghyuck was so mad about that last part, he still talks about how he should have been the one to teach Renjun the ropes of it ( _ because I certainly give better hickeys than you, Jaemin! How do I know that? I just do! _ ), but Renjun declared the discussion to be over around the fifteenth time they fought about it.)

When he turned fifteen and went through a rebellious phase, Renjun decided that he wanted to get rid of them at all costs. He just  _ couldn't _ have two other boys inside his head, ready to mess everything alongside puberty and all of that stuff. Donghyuck and Jaemin were so upset that Renjun wanted them to go away that they vanished for two whole days – their record so far –, and he got quite lonely and sad at that. 

But they can't really go away, not even if Renjun wants them too, so they just came back and demanded an apology (he complied in a heartbeat), and here they are.

_ Yeah, here I am!,  _ exclaims Donghyuck, on his right shoulder.  _ I was kind of napping somewhere in your parietal lobe, did you miss me much? _

"You can't go there," Renjun whispers, unlocking the door to his house. "We had this talk before. You live on my frontal lobe, can't go anywhere else."

_ Riiiiight, I totally knew that. I was just testing you!  _

Jaemin sighs,  **he doesn't know what any of that means. He only said "parietal lobe" because he saw it on your Biology text-book the other day** . 

_ Not true!,  _ Donghyuck reasons.  _ And, by the way, you still need to study. I noticed you had many questions today in class. _

So, yeah, you can say that Donghyuck is the little angel propped up on his shoulder and Jaemin is his demon counterpart. Although being quite terrible at their functions – which are, precisely, helping him on his decisions and actions and keeping him alive –, they prefer to be called  _ guardians _ . So that's what they are to Renjun. Guardians.

"I know, alright," he replies, finally. The house is too silent for his liking, so his mother and brother must be out. He leaves the shoes at the door and rushes upstairs. "You don't need to remind me of how I'm going to flunk this again."

_ You're not going to flunk, baby, _ Donghyuck replies.  _ I'm just taking care of you!  _

Right, right, totally. Renjun throws his bag at the feet of his desk and rushes to the shower. 

**For real, though,** Jaemin starts, around the time he's three topics into his Biology and already wanting to die.  **Do you really feel like we're prying in your thoughts? I mean, not that we can help it… We've been with you since you were just a disgusting little baby!**

_ Yeah, _ Donghyuck agrees, _ not that I want to agree with Jaemin, but same. What are you on about? _

"Guys, this is exactly what I mean by prying," Renjun sighs, dropping his pen on the table. "And I kind of have a very important test tomorrow. Would you mind tuning it down a little while I study?"

He feels a tug on his hair and yelps, hand moving quickly to brush Jaemin off his left shoulder, but he'd learned how to dodge Renjun's slaps when he (well, they) was four. Instead, his laughter echoes inside Renjun's mind like a very annoying song, and when he looks down at his textbook, decided to keep on studying, Jaemin slides down his arm and sits on top of his hand, looking up at him.  **If you're so busy studying, why are you thinking about us?** , he asks, with a smug on his face.  **I don't belong in Biology textbooks.**

Renjun tries to bat him away, but he only vanishes in thin air. Propped up on Renjun's left shoulder, Donghyuck makes himself comfortable on the crook of his neck and says:  _ That's where you're mistaken, Nana. You can find a picture of your horrendous face right there on the vermin's section! Come on, Injun, show him, I think it's page 354, section 4. _

For a second, Renjun is grateful that it's impossible for his guardians to hurt each other. He ignores Jaemin crawling on the back of his neck, spitting out curses at Donghyuck and  **take it back now! Renjun, tell him to take it back, now!** , and only turns another page on said textbook. Donghyuck's right, after all. Vermins are on page 354, section 4, although none of them look like Jaemin.

"Please, leave me alone for an hour or so," Renjun tries again, tapping a pen against the glossy pages. "Then you can come back and annoy me all you want."

He's  _ not _ failing Biology. He just has to wait a little, until Jaemin and Donghyuck calm down enough for him to study without all of that cacophony of thoughts inside his head. It takes him a few more minutes of bickering and rereading the same topic again and again until Donghyuck finally talks Jaemin through the idea of disappearing for a while, just to let him study, and they vanish with a loud  _ pop! _ after pressing, the both of them, a kiss to each of Renjun's cheeks. 

At some point, after he manages to fall asleep twice while reading, have the two slices of pizza Kun left for him and have a long conversation about whether or not planarians were cute with Jeno – "of course they are!! >:^(" he texted, furiously, to which Renjun replied with approximately 15 Google pictures in which he thought they were disgusting, only for Jeno to send heart emojis, and then Renjun decided to leave him on read –, Renjun feels a gentle tug on his hair and turns his head to the side slightly as he enters the room again.

Donghyuck smiles softly and says:  _ you should go to sleep now. It's getting late and you'll feel miserable tomorrow _ .

"It's fine," Renjun replies, using one finger to rub on his eye. He, although, closes the text-book and tucks it back inside his bag. "Promise me you won't try to help me during the test."

_ I swear by your mother's hot pot! _

Also tugging on his hair, Jaemin replies:  **I don't promise anything, you know I could get us to the highest ranking in school if you let me.**

"That's cheating," is what Renjun and Donghyuck reply in unison, and Jaemin rolls his eyes to the back of his head before disappearing once again. 

Donghyuck uses the opportunity to slide down his right arm, and Renjun raises a hand to look at him. He rests his little chin on top of his knee and asks:  _ Why are you so worried about privacy, all of a sudden? Is this about that pretty boy from your class? Because this isn't even a secret in the first place. I was there when you realized he's the cutest-- _

"Stop," Renjun replies, firmly, already regretting his life choices, but Jaemin appears again, because he's a pro at talking about pretty boys.

**I know that boy!** , he exclaims.  **We think he's so cute, Renjun, and we want him. You should kiss him just like I taught you. What is his name again?**

Donghyuck vanishes for a split second and appears on Renjun's shoulder, leaning to whisper on his ear, teasingly:  _ What is his name, Injun? Is it… _

**Mark!**

Shut the fuck up, Renjun thinks, as he brushes his teeth. I just think he's cute, that's all. To which Jaemin coos:  **we think so, too. Very, very cute. Very kissable, too, that Mark Lee. Go get him, tiger.**

He spits out the foam. "I barely talk to him!"

_ You're a liar! Didn't I warn you that lying to himself is bad for your health? You're going to end up like Nana! _

**Hey, no offense but, go to fuck yourself.**

Renjun ignores them, puts his toothbrush back on the cup by the sink and rushes to slide under his blankets. His guardians can't get to him if he's asleep. 

He can feel it when Donghyuck makes himself comfortable under the duvet too, resting by the side of his head. Jaemin settles for the crook of his neck as usual.  **It's alright, buttercup,** he tells him.  **We'll help you talk to Mark Lee, I promise. And it'll be won-der-ful, trust me.**

"I don't trust you, I literally never did," Renjun whispers, before dozing off.

.

_ Ladies and gents, Huang Renjun's fourth embarrassing secret is his crush on Mark Lee _ . It's not a crush, Donghyuck, stop with that shit.  _ Except it is! _

No, it's not a crush. The fact that he turns his entire body in Mark Lee's direction when he sits down on his chair, the way a sunflower follows the sunlight, clothed knees knocking against the other's slightly has nothing to do with a crush. Or how he could spend hours listening to whatever Mark is saying about new techniques of storytelling, of the books he's read recently – it also has nothing to do with a crush. I'm just interested, Renjun reasons, in his newest short story. That's all. 

**That's a funny way to say you want to kiss the living shit out of him,** Jaemin comments, nonchalant.  **Damn, doesn't homeboy look cute on that shirt, though?**

Renjun's eyes follow the way Mark fidgets with the buttons of his shirt without realizing, and when Jaemin laughs, he looks away. 

"I think it's lacking something," Mark tells them, quietly, with a shy smile on his lips. Renjun takes the stash of papers he's holding carefully, smoothing the paper with the pads of his fingers – don't you think it's just so cute how he writes in actual paper, not on Google Drive? he asks his guardians, but Jaemin makes a fart noise and Donghyuck says _ that's so gay, even for you _ , and Renjun gives up. "Be honest with me, alright? You don't have to read it today. I think we're supposed to hand it in, like, next week."

Renjun nods instantly, grip tightening on the papers in his hand, and Donghyuck is lucky that he can't be seen by anyone who isn't him, because the way he slides down Renjun's arm and uses his wristband to equilibrate himself as Renjun takes the paper from Mark's hands, looking up at the other boy like this is the best thing he's seen all day, would certainly be disturbing.  _ He's even cuter up close! _ , he swoons. _ Don't you think, Nana? _

**He kind of makes me want to push him against a locker,** Jaemin comments, nonchalant,  **not to steal his lunch money, though. Just to make out. Injun, baby, you have to do it someday. I think the corridor on the third floor is perfect for it, it's always crowded. Audience!**

For his own sanity, Renjun ignores him. He smiles at Mark: "Of course. Read mine as well? I'll share the document with you."

"Sure, dude! My email is..."

This is the thing: Renjun has an extra-curricular lecture of Language Arts, organized and taught by his Literature teacher – his name is Taeyong, and he's one of Renjun's favorite people in the entire world – who one day thought that it would be great for some of his students to have their creative juices pumping once in a while. Therefore, once a week, Renjun stays at school after classes end and lets himself fall back to one of the old chairs in Taeyong's classroom, notebook in front of him with a blank Google Docs open and ready to learn about the wonders of storytelling and such.

At first, he did it because he liked it. But on the second week, when a small group of seniors joined the lecture, Renjun learned that another great reason to attend Taeyong's extracurricular classes was  getting to see Mark Lee in all his glory, doing what he likes to do the most: taming words as he pleases, building up--

_ Entire worlds out of ink and paper,  _ concludes Donghyuck, in a sappy tone. He's made his way back to Renjun's shoulder when he turned around, leaning over the table to take a look at Mark's story.  _ That boy makes you think poetry, pumpkin. That's just so cute. _

**That's disgusting,** Jaemin interrupts, but he doesn't sound very convinced by himself. 

Shut up, Renjun replies. He doesn't dare to say it out loud – one day he accidentally told Jaemin to fuck off a little too loud, and to this day Jeno thinks that he was getting called out for no reason, no matter how many times Renjun apologizes for it, and brings it up with every chance he gets. "That's Jenophobia", he loves to say, and Renjun loves to ignore him. He continues: go bother Donghyuck and leave me alone for a second, okay?

Jaemin scoffs in his ear.  **I don't want to. I'm busy still trying to figure out whether or not Mark Lee is a natural blonde or not, I haven't seen him with another hair color yet.**

When Renjun replies him that no, he isn't, he can practically feel Jaemin melting.  **He must look so good with black hair! Buttercup, I'm serious, you have to…**

He tunes out when Jaemin starts to list out the things he should do to Mark Lee, feeling his cheeks blush furiously – Jaemin, I truly am going to find a way to kill you –, but it's Donghyuck who saves the day: 

_ For Heaven's sake _ , he says, firmly,  _ shut the fuck up, Na Jaemin. I want Injun to kiss him, too, but now is not the time! We have to leave him wanting! Let's not get all desperate for boys like Mark Lee, shall we? He's cute, but we do have standards. _

"That's really not it," Renjun mutters under his breath, and shakes his head positively when this guy named Changbin, sitting nearby, asks him if he's doing good. You guys are making me embarrass myself in class! Shut up! 

After a while, Renjun tunes out the bickering as he gets immersed in Mark's words for a few minutes, just taking a look over the story to get the hang of it until Taeyong starts today's lecture – after all, he'll read it with attention later. Well, he either tunes it out or maybe his guardians only leaving him alone only to come back as annoying as ever, but silence is silence. At some point, he looks over his shoulder and watches as Mark taps the flat tip of his pencil against his lips, concentrated in the lecture.

Pretty, he thinks. And Donghyuck coos. You can't have everything in life.

.

With arms and legs spread out like he's a very lazy starfish, Lee Jeno basks under the sun with a calmness that is yet to be achieved by Renjun. 

Truly, he wishes he could be napping in the garden before his classes, but then again, he doesn't know how Jeno does most of the things he does – like having a good sleep schedule and nice grades, being athletic, dating cute guys, just the usual impossible stuff for normal people but not for freaks like Lee Jeno. If only people knew he ate boogers until he was eleven, he wouldn't look so cool. 

Renjun takes a deep breath and nudges him on the ribs with one foot, impatiently, but the other boy only looks up at him and smiles. "Morning, best friend, how's it going?"

Renjun plops down beside him with a scowl, hugging his books tightly to his chest, and replies: "Can you please tell your nightmare of a boyfriend to stop embarrassing me in front of Mark?"

At that, Jeno's cheeks flush a bright red to match his oversized hoodie. Totally not his, by the way, but Renjun isn't going to point it out. He sits up. "Dude, I told you we haven't used the b-word yet. Anyway, what did Xuxi do this time?"

Where to begin? Renjun shakes his head: "He saw me talking to Mark yesterday, right? And today at the coffee shop he said, and I quote, "I can't believe he's your boy, Little Huang! Why didn't you tell me?". And Mark was  _ right there _ , he heard everything."

Jaemin whispers, outraged,  **it was so embarrassing! We hated it,** and Donghyuck adds:  _ Tell Jenojam we said hi _ ,  _ and that he has toothpaste on the corner of his lip. _

Renjun doesn't say it, although he licks his own thumb and presses it against the corner of Jeno's mouth, wiping off the remainings of toothpaste. The other doesn't even bat an eye. True friendship!  _ No, that's because you've always been disgusting, _ Donghyuck notes,  _ what about the germs, guys? _

**Hmmm, delicious!** , Jaemin teases, and Renjun and Donghyuck mentally groan. Jaemin doesn't look fazed by it. 

"And what did you do?" Jeno asks, probably thinking it's much funnier than it actually is, because that's Jeno for you. "I bet Mark thought it was mad cute. He's, like, a sucker for cute shit. I mean it."

Renjun shrugs.  _ Tell him you ran away from them, you little coward.  _ He fights the urge to say it out loud and replies, for the fifth time ever since he woke up two hours before: shut the fuck up, guys.

"I handled the situation," he replies.  **Liar,** points out Jaemin,  **and I'm so proud** . "But I'm still very mad at your boy."

It's not like he's not used to Yukhei's… ways, but Renjun expected him to have just a tiny bit of basic human decency, alright? 

See, Renjun was just enjoying himself in the coffee shop across the street, sipping on his morning cappuccino and pretending to be looking at anywhere but Mark Lee, two tables away – he was eating a sandwich and trying to do math problems at the same time, that's a classic Mark Lee for you –, when Yukhei sat down with him, stretched his long legs in front of himself and settled his eyes exactly where Renjun was looking. 

It took him exactly three seconds to realize what was going on (Renjun saw it in his eyes, the  _ comprehension _ , and he hated it) and exclaim "It's  _ Mark _ ?! I can't believe he's your boy, Little Huang!", and you know the rest.

To Renjun's dismay, of course, Mark heard it. He looked up with a confused expression – and this is the moment in which Renjun pondered if it was rude to dig a hole on the ground and just stay there for the rest of his life –, then smiled and waved. 

It made his heart sink to the floor and Yukhei smiled proudly, most probably at himself. Before the older boy could embarrass him any further, Renjun quickly got up and left the place, with Jaemin cursing Yukhei to his fifth generation and Donghyuck just screaming on his ears, utterly embarrassed. 

"And I didn't even finish my cappuccino!" he concludes.  **I think that's the last of your problems, buttercup,** points out Jaemin, and for once, Renjun agrees with him.  **Thank you! I'll remember that next time you make fun of me.**

Jeno laughs: "I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose, Jun. On top of that, your crush on Mark is kind of obvious, to be honest."

_ Don't listen to him, pumpkin, it's not obvious, _ Donghyuck replies instantly, at the same time that Jaemin screams  **I KNOW, THANK YOU, LEE JENO!** It makes Renjun rolls his eyes so hard that he almost gets whiplash, and then he replies: 

"Yeah, it's so obvious that even  _ he _ knows about it now. And I don't like this, not even a little bit."

Sighing, Renjun realizes he must get to AP History now. He ruffles Jeno's recently dyed brown hair – _ he looks cute!,  _ Donghyuck points out _ ,  _ **but don't tell him that, he'll get cocky,** Jaemin adds –, says "Don't even think about it, 'cause it's definitely not happening" to the other three and leaves.

.

"I think it's amazing," Renjun tells Mark, because it's true. "I didn't know you were into ghost stories."

There's this split second in which Mark scrunches his nose, embarrassed, that sets Renjun's fight or flight instinct on fire – or maybe it's just Jaemin messing with his nervous system, he doesn't know if he wants to run or kiss him right there –, and then Mark replies: 

"Well, thanks. I read Frankenstein recently. It's insane, and it got me thinking, you know?"

He nods, and the wind catches up and almost takes the pages of Mark's short story with him – but Renjun picks them in the last minute, and it makes Mark laugh, so it's alright.

You see, two days before, Donghyuck had woken him up with an epiphany. He whispered to Renjun:  _ We have a plan for you to kiss Mark Lee _ .  

Surprisingly, Jaemin had agreed,  **yes! You just have to listen to us and trust our guts** . 

That last part was something really difficult for Renjun to do because the last time he did so, he ended up suspended. Jaemin likes to say that he'd end up suspended either way, but that's debatable. Either way, he stopped trusting his guardians years ago, but decided to give it a shot – and that's how he messaged Mark on Facebook, and asked if he wanted to get some bubble tea and discuss writing. 

_ I told you those two words were the magic key to Mark's heart _ , Donghyuck reasons. Renjun replies: bubble tea itself is two words, idiot. And Jaemin laughs, the sound getting mixed with that of Mark's laughter.

But the thing about his guardians' plan is that Renjun has actually no idea how to talk to normal people – Jeno doesn't count because he's Jeno, he can spend days only communicating through Whatsapp stickers and, for that, Renjun is thankful –, and that's when Donghyuck chimes in and says:  _ stop overreacting and just talk to him about the story, dummy.  _

Playing with the straw of his bubble tea, Renjun leans forward a little on the table just as Jaemin starts talking about how he's so much better at flirting than Donghyuck, and it gets so loud inside Renjun's head that he blurts out: "You know, I really like you."

When Mark's eyes become the size of the moon, he notices his fuck up. Renjun slaps his own forehead and says: "I really like what you  _ write _ , I mean. Haha."

**Oh, my God, that was embarrassing, can we go home?.** Shut up, that was your fault!

Mark's cheeks flush a light pink, bottom lip caught between his teeth –  _ he's embarrassed! Oh my God, he's so cute _ –, and then he replies, cheekily: "You've only read two stories of mine, though. And they weren't even finished."

(God bless Taeyong and that one time he suggested they should pair up with someone they didn't know and keep reading each other's works for the rest of the term, really.)

But despite that, Renjun's brain screams: ABORT MISSION NOW, and Jaemin adds, conveniently,  **WEE WOO WEE WOO LET'S RUN, BOYS!**

_ Let me take the lead now, let me take the lead now! _ , Donghyuck chants. When Jaemin starts complaining about it – he wants to help, too, but that's something Renjun won't allow after that disaster, so he just says as Donghyuck whispers:

"Well, I liked those very much, so maybe you could show me other things?"

Renjun's heart beats so strongly that he feels it on his ears, and it's like a billion years have passed –  _ stop being so dramatic, you're not Jaemin _ – when Mark finally replies, with a smile on his face: "Well, alright! But then again, I never finish shit. And I want to read your stuff, too."

"It's alright, though," Renjun says, smiling. "I'd read your grocery list, honestly."

Perhaps Donghyuck is better at this than Jaemin is –  **again, go fuck yourself, Donghyuck** –, because Renjun goes home with the image of Mark getting flustered on his mind and a small stash of small stories and insights he thought Renjun would like inside his bag. 

.

@moominist (16:02)

i just wanted to say

that one short story about the broken robot???

i loved it so much!!!

jgdjlklkj :(

 

(19:34) @leemarkos 

Oh hi

I was at practice, sorry

Why the sad face !!

 

@moominist (19:37)

bc i don't know what's going to happen!

and he likes the human so much!

:((((

 

(19:37) @leemarkos

Akldgfjfdk

Can't believe you like >that< one 

Bc it's like...... f*nfic haha 

This is so embarrassing oh my 

 

@moominist (19:40)

uhhhh we don't have to talk abt it

if you don't want to

it's just really good. i mean it!

 

(19:40) @leemarkos

Sorry i'm just kinda shy ig

Glad you liked it tho :-)

 

Tugging hard on his hair, Jaemin screams:  **WEE WOO WEE WOO FLIRTY BOY ALERT!!! I LIKE HIM!!! RENJUN!!!**

 

@moominist (19:41)

i'm trying not to ask what happens later

BUT WHAT HAPPENS LATER????

i'll buy an insight of your brain for 1 half-eaten tuna sandwich

 

(19:42) @leemarkos

How about I tell you tomorrow after class

Preferably after a whole sandwich and a soda

But i pay

?

 

Renjun screams against his pillow and Jaemin joins him, speechless, while Donghyuck chants:  _ let me reply, let me reply, let me reply!  _

His fingers move before he notices:

 

@moominist (19:45)

it's a date, then

 

"HYUCK, NO!"

**I thought we weren't gonna get desperate for boys like Mark Lee,** Jaemin comments, **what happened to that?**

Donghyuck sighs, defeated.  _ I lost control of my senses, y'all. _

"Incredible," Renjun complains. "Three heads around here and not a single brain cell on sight."

_ Technically, _ Donghyuck points out,  _ Nana and I are just a projection of your mind, so you're the brainless one here. Oh, look! You have a text from Mark Lee. Thank me later, pumpkin.  _

 

(19:46) @leemarkos

KK yeah it is 

See you tmrw !! <3

 

If Renjun could do it, he'd kiss Donghyuck.  **Ah, you'd kiss him and not me? Noted!**

.

Murphy's law says that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and Renjun couldn't agree with it more.  _ I'm so sorry!!! _ Donghyuck tries, but he ignores him.  _ Would you still kiss me if you could? _

**Like I said, you should trust – and kiss! – me, not him,** Jaemin reasons.  **That little fuck up back then was bad, yes, but not as bad as this. Nana is the guy for you, buttercup. We've been knew.**

"Neither of you is the guy for me," Renjun replies, exasperated, as he leans against the bathroom door. "You said I can't kill myself by holding my breath, right?"

**Yeah, it's impossible,** Jaemin replies, but he tries anyway. His phone beeps incessantly with texts from Jeno, but he's not ready to face the consequences of his actions just yet. 

When his head becomes a little dizzy, Renjun sucks in a breath and checks the time. He's been in here for fifteen minutes, which could only mean he's got bad stomach business or is just a boy with social anxiety – and he hopes Mark thinks it's the latter.

Mark. Mark Lee. Jesus Christ.  **Get out of here, buttercup,** Jaemin says softly.  **I can fix this, if you let me.**

"Stay out of my fucking head!" Renjun groans, rubbing a hand on his face. He's probably going to ruin the eyeliner Jeno put on him, but whatever. "I always ruin it when you guys try to help me. You mess up my head, and I'm useless. We're shit at this."

_ I know you're mad at me, but hear me out, _ Donghyuck starts. Renjun sighs and listens.  _ You're not useless, Injun. You like him and he gets you nervous, and that's alright. We were trying to help but we're the useless ones around here, seriously.  _

Jaemin snorts.  **You're useless, I didn't do anything. I'm pretty good at this.**

_ Shut up, you doofus! Anyway, I'm truly sorry, Injun. Nana is too, even though he's not going to say it. Now, what do you want to do? _

"Uh, throw myself out of the window?" Renjun mutters.

Donghyuck sighs,  _ not an option, pumpkin. How about we go out and talk to him? _

"I can't go out there, he probably thinks I'm the weirdest person on Earth--"

A knock on the door startles the living hell out of him, and Renjun knocks his head against the tiles on the wall. "Shit!"

"Hey," Mark says, on the other side. Renjun can see his beat-up red Converses from under the door and he wants to cry.  **We're not ruining the eyeliner, okay, pull yourself together.** Okay, Nana. "Are you… Talking on the phone? I can come back later."

"No," Renjun manages to reply. "I was just… Talking to myself. I'm sorry. Mark, I'm so sorry--"

"Don't be, really. It's fine."

Silence settles between them and Donghyuck whispers,  _ I told you it's not as bad as it seems _ , and Renjun replies: please, let me do this on my own.

For his surprise, his mind is suddenly clear of any other thoughts that aren't his own. He sighs in relief and says: "I don't actually think before speaking and end up saying stupid things. But I'm not, like, off in the head or something," he pauses, and then adds: "Maybe just a little, actually, but only when you're around."

The sound of Mark's giggle echoes in the bathroom and Renjun feels a smile forming on his own lips, and uselessly tries to fight it back. He rests his head against the door and waits.

"That's cute," Mark says, finally. " _ You're _ cute, actually, I-- can't you open the door? A guy just walked here and looked at me very strangely."

"No," Renjun replies, sincerely.

"Okay, it's fine. So, uh, I think it's cute that you get nervous around me, but you don't have to be like that… ? I'm just Mark, you know."

"Well,  _ that's _ the thing, Mark Lee."

He laughs again, and this time Renjun laughs with him. Not having other voices inside his head makes him feel dizzy – he likes Mark  _ so _ much, truly. He follows with his eyes as Mark's feet pace back and forth on the other side until he hears a loud thump on the door. "Did you just hit your head?", Renjun asks.

"Yeah, kind of."

His heart beats like crazy inside his chest. "A penny for your thoughts?"

"Okay," Mark breathes out. "I get nervous around you, too, alright. So how about we, uh, try to be more chill, but together? As in…"

"Don't ask me on a second date."

"What?  _ Why? _ "

Renjun unlocks the door, but doesn't open it just yet. "Because I kind of ruined out first, and I want a chance to make it right."

He doesn't know, but Mark smiles brightly. "Then do your thing, Huang Renjun."

.

(Their second first-date goes a little like this: Renjun teaches him how to skate and they get gigantic ice cream cones after the seventh fall of the day – "But I wanted to keep trying!" "Mark, your knee is ruined. It was funny at first but now I feel bad" –, and Mark tells him about soccer tryouts next month and gushes about a character of the short story Renjun wrote for Halloween, and Renjun actually gathers courage enough to holds his hand, and he's so happy that he doesn't care about Jaemin screaming in his ear and Donghyuck screaming back at Jaemin for being so extra.)

(And then Mark kisses him, and Renjun kisses him back. And then he does it again and again, and Renjun keeps kissing him back.)

.

Sitting cross-legged on the grass, Yukhei runs fingers through Renjun's hair and says: "I'm sure it wasn't bad, Little Huang. All first dates are awkward.

"Especially if Mark is involved," Jeno chimes in, happily sipping on the iced tea that Renjun bought him. "Because he's an idiot on his own."

By Jeno's side, Mark throws his head back in laughter. "Okay, that's mean, but whatever. And it wasn't awkward, just a little sad. He told me he wanted to say "You look stupidly good," but ended up saying "You look stupid. Good.", and then locked himself in the bathroom! And I didn't know if I should follow him or not!"

Yukhei scoffs. "Well,  _ Jeno _ almost bailed out of  _ our _ date so he could go save him, so I guess I'm thankful that you followed him."

Embarrassed to his very core, Renjun finally speaks up: "Can you stop talking like I'm not right here?"

"No," they reply, in unison. Although Mark says sorry, Yukhei doesn't, and Jeno hits him on the back of his head for that.

So, basically, that's the thing. It's a sunny Wednesday, he's sitting under the sun with his friends and, well, Mark – "You haven't said the b-word yet? Why?" "Jeno, stop being so afraid of that word and, no, we haven't, because shut up!" –, and they're all collectively making fun of him for being an actual disgrace. Renjun wants to scream: IT WAS JAEMIN'S FAULT, but he can't, so he just presses his face on Yukhei's belly and wishes to be dead. 

**Don't pull that shit on me,** Jaemin starts.  **You said it because you weren't paying attention to me! I was teaching you how to flirt! And you kept thinking about his turtleneck!**

Donghyuck hisses,  _ don't speak to him like that! He was trying his best, and you know how distracting Mark can be! And things ended up just fine! _

Yeah, maybe, Renjun replies. He rolls off Yukhei's lap and sits back on the grass, sighing. Mark looks at him with a playful expression on his face, and then he gets up to sit by Renjun's side.

Rolling away from them like a pro, Yukhei lets his head fall to Jeno's lap and they instantly indulge in a conversation of their own, so Renjun scoots closer to Mark, leans in and whispers: "You always look stupid." 

He sighs: "How are you insulting me already, we just had our second first-date!"

Renjun shrugs. "Always double dare me, Mark Lee, or else I'm always gonna be two steps ahead of you."

( **Jesus, where did you learn that?** Jaemin whistles.  **Nice job, buttercup.**

Donghyuck groans.  _ Oh my God, shut up. This is better than a movie and you're ruining it with your annoying voice. _

Guys, Renjun replies, shut up.)

Mark rolls his eyes, throwing an arm around his shoulders. Renjun's heart threatens to explode, but he leaves that for later. Instead, he tries not to die when Mark leans in and whispers: 

"You were cuter when you got nervous around me."

He pushes him off, laughing. "Well," he replies, hand coming up to tap the other's cheek. "You brought this on yourself, really."

The tips of Mark's ears become bright red, but he smiles anyways: "Didn't say I didn't like it, though."

To everyone's surprise, including himself, Renjun leans in and kisses him square on the mouth.

Jeno groans loudly: 

"Ultimate level of gross. I'm gonna barf."

Yukhei sits up immediately. "Not over me, please. I'm not really into that--"

**Author's Note:**

> if you liked this, don't forget to leave a kudo and let me know what you thought!
> 
> so yeah, that's it! see y'all later this year. buhbyeee <3
> 
> ps: mark's robot story is actually a wayv fic. stay tuned. let's get it
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/morktwt)   
>  [ccat](https://curiouscat.me/nctqueer)


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